Lots of really good advice here, and one of the reasons I have never gone crazy with asking for CLIs. I have never had a CLD, but it wouldn't surprise me now that I have gotten some CLI's on cards that really don't have crazy spend it might happen. As long as my core cards have limits necessary for my spend without throwing my util out of whack though I am not going to sweat it.
@Repairman wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Repairman wrote:... I'm wondering how much use would theoretically help to maintain current cls ...
It really depends on your profile and the lender in question. With Capital One, they are known to CLD low used credit lines that are > $10k to $10k rather often....
I would just like to have the credit available to me if I need it in the future. I actually only have 1 currently open cc who's cl has been reduced, and it is 1 of my 3 Cap One cards, but that is also my only cc where I've put absolutely NO usage on in over a year. I planned on closing it, so I didn't care about usage. My 2 other higher limit Cap Ones have seen major use every year, but I plan to dial it back now and sock drawer them. Right now, my only need for them are as Emergency cards.
I've seen this question before and it raises great points about overall card strategies.
One strategy is maximizing rewards. We all have different tolerances and viewpoints about that. I've seen some on My Fico value rewards less than other factors. Others value rewards to such a degree that they're willing to add 100 extra cards to save a nickel a year on each one. Most of us are in between.
And another strategy is adding (or padding) credit limits far above what we use on a monthly basis to help with utilization or for emergency use. Again, how much this strategy is pursued varies among us greatly. At some point, adding extra utilization becomes more of a burden than a benefit because many lenders won't allow you to keep it if you don't use it. So we all have to decide how much we value the credit limit padding over other factors such as rewards lost. And how much padding is sufficient.
In my opinion, my cards are a financial tool and they can benefit me in BOTH of the above ways. For me, there is a balance between maintaining my credit cards by usage with the rewards. Some recommend to always go for the most rewards, regardless of maintaining some healthy card usage. So my advice is to decide what you might be willing to forfeit in rewards to keep those lines open. If you value a line of credit, I see no problem in trading some amount of higher rewards once or twice a year to put a little extra spend on a card above that recurring charge. Make it your daily driver for at least one month or so out of the year.
I agree with the above advice that if all you put on a Capital One card with a $15K limit is a monthly recurring $22 charge, you probably won't keep that limit over the long haul. (That's only $264 a year or 1.76% of the credit limit!) They like to see some usage. With some other lenders, I have cards I've put $0.00 spend on for multiple years and not had it cancelled, so it's very lender-specific.
